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identification vs watching (1 Viewer)

You mean I typed my fingers to the bone and had to do all that thinking and all I needed was:
Some people.....go mad without having contact with nature.3:)

Au contraire,, Sue. Your entire exposition was accurate, precisely-worded and crystal-clear, and leaves nothing more to be said!

And I sighed with wistful envy when I read this sentence:

Just as I get comfortable with the avifauna in an area, the wind blows my house to another area.

Sancho the Sedentary
 
Sue,
One aspect of what you wrote clearly rang a bell with me. I have a friend who is not a birder, but has some experience in "mindfulness". He feels that birding has some things in common with that: to discover and identify/watch a bird you need to be concentrated on the here-and-now which means that it clears your mind of work-related problems etc. In other words, stress relieving.

Niels
 
Hi H.

Au contraire,, Sue. Your entire exposition was accurate, precisely-worded and crystal-clear, and leaves nothing more to be said!


Thank you, Sancho. Having your house blowing in the wind is not all it's cracked out to be.;) I really dread the 'Baja Bash' for the last leg of this journey. Another reason I wanted to stay here another year?
Sue
 
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Sue,
One aspect of what you wrote clearly rang a bell with me. I have a friend who is not a birder, but has some experience in "mindfulness". He feels that birding has some things in common with that: to discover and identify/watch a bird you need to be concentrated on the here-and-now which means that it clears your mind of work-related problems etc. In other words, stress relieving.

Niels
Hi Niels,
When I am not focused on a bird and am just walking and listening, I meditate and think about various things and it is stress relieving. I don't do that consciously, it's just the quiet and solitude that causes introspection. I imagine most of us do that when we're out. Natural areas are sort of my 'church'. I find peace and contentment as well as birds, bugs, plants and animals.
 
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Definitely. Have had some problems with stress recently and going out for a walk looking for birds does help a lot, the concentration needed helps divert your mind and the enjoyment of watching the birds coupled with being out in wild places away from other people is a wonderful cure for worries. Plus the exercise and fresh air of course.
 
Sometimes I find birding quite stressful to be honest!!!

Maybe that relates to the male-cliched way I go about it ...

(But enjoyable, healthy etc etc yes)


3:) You have such a great sense of humor, you are always quick with the come backs.

It's nice to be appreciated, thanks. Most of us would probably disagree with your first statement though ;) (And I think I tend to do more pre-emptive 'go-forwards' than 'come-backs', on the whole ...)

Golly! All the respondents in this thread are male!

Let me be the first female to reply to Beth!

Extraneous 'Golly' IMO. It had already been stated that a much higher proportion of BF members were male than female. I think you were coming in at about exactly the right point for the number of posts made ...

;)
 
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Sometimes I find birding quite stressful to be honest!!!

Stoned in Karachi, hacked up by a machete at Tiwi Beach, hauled off a bus by armed loonies waving around grenades on route to San Salvador, various encounters with critters a little close, it has its moments :-O
 
... or the world is becoming a better safer place as humanity learns erm ... more humanity?


Hmmm ... maybe not (and that's a totally different topic - off topic I think - human race id vs watching ...)
 
Sometimes I find birding quite stressful to be honest!!!

Maybe that relates to the male-cliched way I go about it ...

(But enjoyable, healthy etc etc yes)

The only time I've found it stressful is on the few occasions I've gone somewhere with the express intent of seeing a certain species and found myself worrying if I will or won't see it. I hate that and deliberately avoid those situations whenever possible - one reason why I try to avoid twitching. Instead I'll look at look at local sightings to build up an idea of where good places are to go to watch birds and when inclined to go somewhere outside my own local places will try those out. I'd rather not get worked up and enjoy a peaceful day watching lots of regular-type birds than dash about in a flap in order to see some rarity. If I see an interesting bird by chance it's always been a huge buzz, but the times when I've gone somewhere with an expectation of seeing something the experience has usually fallen a little flat.

One of the best stress relievers I have is to remember one day I spent time sitting in a hide at Cley Marshes, no-one else was around so I was just sitting there quietly and watching the birds going to and fro, with a Marsh Harrier quartering over the reeds.

Better to put yourself in a good place and enjoy what you find there than go with a list of things you 'must' see, though others may be into it for the excitement and in that case feel free to fill your boots. ;) That said, now I'm getting to know my patch I find that it can be quite concerning when I go out and repeatedly don't see birds I regularly saw in certain places before. I find myself worrying about the Reed Buntings and the Sedge Warblers if I don't see them, hoping they're ok. Same with the birds in my garden... I guess it's not as stress-relieving as I thought! :-O
 
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You mean I typed my fingers to the bone and had to do all that thinking and all I needed was:
Some people.....go mad without having contact with nature.3:)
Yes, don't just hate it when that happens? |:mad:|
Thank you, Sancho. Having your house blowing in the wind is not all it's cracked out to be. I really dread the 'Baja Bash' for the last leg of this journey. Another reason I wanted to stay here another year?
Sue

Not being a nautical type, I have no idea what the 'Baja Bash' is ... but I can certainly see both advantages and drawbacks of SueO's "house" as a base from which to look for birds. Yes, you get to go to a whack of new and interesting places; on the other hand, sailing up the Papallacta Pass would be rather difficult...
:h?:
 
Yes, don't just hate it when that happens? |:mad:|


Not being a nautical type, I have no idea what the 'Baja Bash' is ... but I can certainly see both advantages and drawbacks of SueO's "house" as a base from which to look for birds. Yes, you get to go to a whack of new and interesting places; on the other hand, sailing up the Papallacta Pass would be rather difficult...
:h?:

Had to look up the Papallacta Pass--yeah that one would be tough! I told Gene to install the dilithim crystal driven, anti-gravitational thrusters before we left, but he's too cheap.;)
We have gone on a few tourismo trips that take us inland and we rent cars occasionally depending on what the local driving is like.
Sue
 
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